Don grew up learning his way around a garage with his late father, a retired U.S. Air Force mechanic. Don's dad helped him with this engine swap. What's better than that? Nothing.

Don's father passed away in November. We loved seeing the photos of the two working on this project together. A lot of us here at OnAllCylinders are both fathers and sons. So, this resonates. Thoughts and prayers, Don.

She really does look at home in there. We should get the Chevy people to talk to the Mazda people. Or something.

Don Teifke was hunting for a donor Mustang to support a future Factory Five Racing Mk4 Roadster build when he stumbled on this second-generation Mazda RX7—a car he always liked the look of. His brother had owned a 1986 GXL RX7, and Teifke liked it. But it always needed a V8, he said.

When he stumbled on this RX7, the paint and body were perfect, but the drivetrain was a little rough. The only responsible choice was to drop a small-block Chevy 383 stroker into it. And Teifke makes responsible choices, so that’s what he did.*

The net result is a car that runs 11s at Great Lakes Dragaway, and presumably serves as a pretty cool sleeper on the streets of Wisconsin, where Teifke makes his home.

This is a super-cool swap, Don. Thank you very much for sharing with us.

Be sure to check out the slide show above!

*This is pure speculation. Teifke could be a total loose cannon. We just know if you’re dropping bored and stroked Bowtie motors into Mazdas, we’re always going to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Author: Matt Griswold
Matt Griswold is the editor of OnAllCylinders. After a 10-year newspaper journalism career, he has spent the past seven years writing about the automotive aftermarket and motorsports. He has been with OAC since its launch in 2012.